Sega Virtua Processor

Last updated
Sega Virtua Processor
Manufacturer Sega
Introduced1994
Discontinued1994
Type Digital signal processor
ProcessorSamsung SSP160x
Frequency23MHz
Memory
  • Two independent high-speed RAM banks, accessed in single clock cycle, 256 words each
  • 16 × 16-bit multiply unit
  • 32-bit ALU, status register
  • Hardware stack of 6 levels
  • 128KB of DRAM
  • 2KB of IRAM (instruction RAM)
  • Memory controller with address mapping capability
  • 2MB of game ROM

The Sega Virtua Processor (short: SVP) is a digital signal processor introduced by Sega in 1994 to expand the Mega Drive/Genesis' 3D capabilities. [ citation needed ]

Digital signal processor specialized microprocessor optimized for digital signal processing

A digital signal processor (DSP) is a specialized microprocessor, with its architecture optimized for the operational needs of digital signal processing.

Sega Japanese video game developer and publisher and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings

Sega Games Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational video game developer and publisher headquartered in Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and London. Sega's arcade division, once part of Sega Corporation, has existed as Sega Interactive Co., Ltd. since 2015. Both companies are subsidiaries of Sega Holdings Co., Ltd., which is in turn a part of Sega Sammy Holdings.

Sega Genesis Fourth-generation home video game console and fourth developed by Sega

The Sega Genesis, known as the Mega Drive in regions outside North America, is a 16-bit home video game console developed and sold by Sega. The Genesis is Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it as the Mega Drive in Japan in 1988, followed by North America as the Genesis in 1989. In 1990, it was distributed as the Mega Drive by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe, Ozisoft in Australasia, and Tectoy in Brazil. In South Korea, it was distributed by Samsung as the Super Gam*Boy and later the Super Aladdin Boy.

Contents

The SVP was Sega's answer to Nintendo's Super FX processor used in some of their SFC/SNES cartridges.

Nintendo Japanese video game company

Nintendo Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics and video game company headquartered in Kyoto. Nintendo is one of the world's largest video game companies by market capitalization, creating some of the best-known and top-selling video game franchises, such as Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon.

Super FX 3D graphics chip used in Super Nintendo games

The Super FX is a coprocessor on the Graphics Support Unit (GSU) added to select Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) video game cartridges, primarily to provide advanced 2D and 3D techniques. The Super FX chip was designed by Argonaut Games, who also co-developed the 3D space rail shooter video game Star Fox with Nintendo to demonstrate the additional polygon rendering capabilities that the chip had introduced to the SNES.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System home video game console developed by Nintendo

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), also known as the Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Australasia (Oceania), and 1993 in South America. In Japan, the system is called the Super Famicom (SFC). In South Korea, it is known as the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. The system was released in Brazil on August 30, 1993, by Playtronic. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent the different versions from being compatible with one another.

Technical details

The SVP is thought to be a Samsung SSP1601 16-bit Fixed Point DSP with Sega branding. For a long time it was assumed to be a SH-x DSP in the homebrew scene. The assumption was based on the fact that Sega has used SH-1 and SH-2 processors for their 32X and Saturn consoles.

Samsung South Korean multinational conglomerate

Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand, and is the largest South Korean chaebol.

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SuperH is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computing (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by Hitachi and currently produced by Renesas. It is implemented by microcontrollers and microprocessors for embedded systems.

The only usage of the SVP was in the Mega Drive/Genesis version of Virtua Racing . Its main task was to calculate the polygonal graphics of the game. The main purpose of the SVP is to render polygons as 8x8 tiles, which the game program transfers to VRAM from the 128K RAM area using DMA. [1] The SVP runs at 23 MHz and can calculate 300 to 500 polygons/frame at 15 frames per second (up to 6,500 polygons per second) with a maximum of 16 colors. It also has its own small heat sink because it gets warm during operation.

<i>Virtua Racing</i> 1992 racing game

Virtua Racing or V.R. for short, is a Formula One racing arcade game, developed by Sega AM2 and released in 1992. Virtua Racing was initially a proof-of-concept application for exercising a new 3D-graphics platform under development, the "Model 1". The results were so encouraging, that Virtua Racing was fully developed into a standalone arcade title. Though its use of 3D polygonal graphics was predated by arcade rivals Namco and Atari, Virtua Racing had vastly improved visuals in terms of polygon count, frame rate, and overall scene complexity, and displayed multiple camera angles and 3D human non-player characters, which all contributed to a greater sense of immersion. Virtua Racing is regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time, for laying the foundations for subsequent 3D racing games and for popularizing 3D polygonal graphics among a wider audience.

In 3D computer graphics, Polygonal modeling is an approach for modeling objects by representing or approximating their surfaces using polygons. Polygonal modeling is well suited to scanline rendering and is therefore the method of choice for real-time computer graphics. Alternate methods of representing 3D objects include NURBS surfaces, subdivision surfaces, and equation-based representations used in ray tracers. See polygon mesh for a description of how polygonal models are represented and stored.

Direct memory access (DMA) is a feature of computer systems that allows certain hardware subsystems to access main system memory, independent of the central processing unit (CPU).

Implementations

At the time of release, the SVP was set to raise the cost of the Virtua Racing cartridges (the game cost $100 in the U.S. and £70 in the UK), which can be seen as a major reason why the SVP was only used in Virtua Racing. Sega and Sega of America started to develop the 32X expansion console around that time.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million sq mi (9.8 million km2), the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.93 million sq mi (10.2 million km2). With a population of more than 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. Most of the country is located contiguously in North America between Canada and Mexico.

Pound sterling Official currency of the United Kingdom and other territories

The pound sterling, commonly known as the pound and less commonly referred to as sterling, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the British Antarctic Territory, and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence. A number of nations that do not use sterling also have currencies called the pound.

Due to a clash between memory addresses used by the 32X and the SVP, Virtua Racing is the only Mega Drive/Genesis game which doesn't run with an attached 32X. A 32X version of the game called Virtua Racing Deluxe was released later in 1994, featuring more polygons per track and car, three cars and two more tracks. It has been theorized by many[ weasel words ] that an SVP adapter (similar to the 32X) was in development prior to the 32X creation.

Emulation

An emulator called PicoDrive was the first emulator capable of emulating the SVP; the source code is available and has subsequently been used in most emulators that support the SVP.

An emulator for the Wii console called Genesis Plus GX is able to emulate the SVP. Also, the Genesis emulator Regen emulates the SVP. As of version 3.6, the Kega Fusion Genesis/32x/CD emulator supports SVP emulation. The emulator MD.emu, a Genesis & Master System emulator for Android, also emulates the SVP.

The Retrogen Portable (a released Sega Mega Drive/Genesis) is compatible with the SVP.

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References

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